‘They Died For Nothing?’: Marcus Luttrell Hits Back at CNN Host In Tense Interview

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Update: TheBlaze Editor in Chief Scott Baker discusses the controversy over this post in the BlazeCast at the bottom of this page.

Editor’s Note: Tapper said in several tweets early Saturday morning that he disagrees with TheBlaze’s characterization of his comments in the first paragraph of this story. See below for an update.

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Former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell pushed back at CNN’s Jake Tapper after the host suggested in an interview that the “lone survivor’s” fellow veterans died for nothing.

“One of the emotions that I felt, while watching the film is first of all the hopelessness of the situation — how horrific it was and also just all that loss of life of these brave American men,” Tapper said in an interview that aired Friday.

“And I was torn about the message of the film in the same way that I think I am about the war in Afghanistan itself,” he added. “I don’t want any more senseless American death. And at the same time I know that there were bad people there and good people that need help.”

Watch the tense interview (comments come at around 3-minute mark):

Luttrell hit back.

“I don’t know what part of the film you were watching, but hopelessness really never came into it,” he said, shifting in his seat. “I mean, where did you see that? Because there was never a point where we just felt like we were hopelessly lost or anything like that. We never gave up. We never felt like we were losing until we were actually dead.”

“I don’t know what part of the film you were watching, but hopelessness really never came into it.”

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“Just the sense of all these wonderful people who died,” Tapper replied. “It seemed senseless. I don’t mean to disrespect in any way, but it seemed senseless — all of these wonderful people who were killed for an op that went wrong.”

“We spend our whole lives training to defend this country and then we were sent over there by this country — so you’re telling me because we were over there doing what we were told by our country that it was senseless?” Luttrell asked. “And my guys — what? They died for nothing?”

“No,” Tapper replied.

“That’s what you said,” Luttrell countered. “So, let me just say, it went bad for us over there, but that was our job. That’s what we did. We didn’t complain about it.”

In December of 2012, Glenn Beck revealed that Tapper is one of the journalists he is a fan of, finding him to be “fantastic and fair.” Earlier that month, Tapper had appeared on his radio show and discussed the future of U.S. involvement in Afghanistan.

“I do not despise you, Glenn,” he said at the time. “I have a limited reservoir of loathing and you do not earn any of it.”